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Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Weekend Report: Skiing in Tahoe

Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a lovely holiday, finished off 2012 strong, and started 2013 right!

My year ended (and the new one started) with a living room dance party that may or may not have involved my trampoline. Then I for-reals started 2013 with a relaxing day of leftover Chinese food, a little run, yoga, unpacking, and apartment cleaning. Despite its mellow start, 2013 has been officially designated (by 6x6 et al.) The Year To Be Brave. I am ready!

Lookout Mountain at Northstar, looking at Martis Valley.

But before I we fully return to real life, let’s backtrack to my time at home – specifically, my time skiing at home! On the Thursday after Christmas, my mama and I drove up to Tahoe where we were greeted by our little house buried in 4 feet of fresh snow. She handed me a shovel and my dad’s snow boots – Dig us a path to the back door! (Our front door is boarded up right now because a bear broke in just before Thanksgiving!!!) Shoveling snow isn’t exactly the same as playing in it…but after last year’s no-snow Christmas, I’ll take it.

The next morning we got up, put on all our layers (6 on top for me…I may be a skier but I do not like being cold), and headed to Northstar, the resort where I learned to ski and which I know better than my favorite cookie recipe.

Northstar, driving through Martis Valley.

The Lake Tahoe area is having a pretty amazing December, and on my first day on the mountain the snow gods blessed me with three of my favorite conditions: powder, tracked powder, and groomed powder (aka "hero snow"). We skied 9-4 and it really was pure perfection. Seriously guys, I could do that all day every day for the rest of my life and be completely happy.

West Ridge overlooking Martis Valley at Northstar.

(For those of you who don't know me personally, I am a skier. I haven't blogged about it much because it's a whole huge can of awesomeness that could fill many many an internet page and this is not a skiing blog; but just fyi I literally ski raced instead of going to high school. I grew up skiing in Tahoe for the Northstar, then Diamond Peak, then Sugar Bowl ski teams. For those of you who know ski racing, I raced USSA, FIS, and Elite FIS for Far West and my best events were downhill and slalom.) (Ok, Mollie-life-summary over.)

Though skiing every day of my life isn’t in the cards right now, Mama and I did get in three very solid days.

Don't judge...our faces are frozen.

On Day 2 we headed to Mt. Rose, where I finally got to experience The Chutes, semi-recently opened double blacks that are closed unless there’s a lot of snow. My feet and quads and back hated me a little bit, but it was totally worth it!

The back side of Mt. Rose, overlooking Carson City.

On Day 3 we went back to Northstar for some more tree skiing (what’s better than tree skiing in soft powder when it’s 20 degrees? Nothing. Unless you’re tree skiing in soft powder when it’s 20 degrees after eating blueberry pancakes from the Old Post Office. Oh wait we did that.)

Gratuitous glamour shots of the lake apres-ski. Tahoe is a beautiful place, no?

Sadly all good things must come to an end, and considering that today, 3 days later, I still can’t feel the ends of my toes, a few days off snow was probably for the best…but here’s to winter and snow and skiing and 2013!!!